Israel earlier struck Strip in response to volley of rockets

Foreign national moderately hurt as Gazan terrorists launch rocket barrage on south

2 others lightly hurt by shrapnel at Sderot construction site as 37 projectiles fired at Israeli towns, in ongoing tit-for-tat; Palestinian terror factions take responsibility

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

  • Security forces inspect a damaged car in the southern city of Sderot following rocket fire from Gaza on May 2, 2023. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)
    Security forces inspect a damaged car in the southern city of Sderot following rocket fire from Gaza on May 2, 2023. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)
  • Israeli security forces and emergency personnel inspect a damaged house in the southern city of Sderot following rocket fire from Gaza on May 2, 2023 (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP)
    Israeli security forces and emergency personnel inspect a damaged house in the southern city of Sderot following rocket fire from Gaza on May 2, 2023 (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP)
  • The site where a rocket fired from Gaza hit a construction site in the southern city of Sderot, May 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
    The site where a rocket fired from Gaza hit a construction site in the southern city of Sderot, May 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
  • Security forces inspect a fire near the southern city of Sderot following rocket fire from Gaza on May 2, 2023. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
    Security forces inspect a fire near the southern city of Sderot following rocket fire from Gaza on May 2, 2023. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
  • Israeli security forces and emergency personnel cordon off an area in the southern city of Sderot on May 2, 2023, following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
    Israeli security forces and emergency personnel cordon off an area in the southern city of Sderot on May 2, 2023, following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
  • The site where a rocket fired from Gaza hit a construction site in the southern city of Sderot, May 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
    The site where a rocket fired from Gaza hit a construction site in the southern city of Sderot, May 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
  • The site where a rocket fired from Gaza hit a home in the southern city of Sderot, May 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
    The site where a rocket fired from Gaza hit a home in the southern city of Sderot, May 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
  • Firefighters work to extinguish a fire near the southern city of Sderot following rocket fire from Gaza, on May 2, 2023. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
    Firefighters work to extinguish a fire near the southern city of Sderot following rocket fire from Gaza, on May 2, 2023. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
  • Trails of smoke are seen as rockets are fired from Gaza towards Israel, in Gaza City on May 2, 2023. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)
    Trails of smoke are seen as rockets are fired from Gaza towards Israel, in Gaza City on May 2, 2023. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)
  • An Iron Dome air defense system is seen in southern Israel, May 2, 2023. (FLASH90)
    An Iron Dome air defense system is seen in southern Israel, May 2, 2023. (FLASH90)

A foreign national was moderately hurt after Palestinian terrorists in Gaza launched a volley of rockets at southern Israel on Tuesday afternoon, the military and medics said. The attack came after the Israeli military carried out tank strikes toward the Strip following four rockets fired at Israel from there earlier, which were a reaction to the death of a hunger-striking member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in Israeli custody.

The Israel Defense Forces said 22 rockets were launched from Gaza at southern Israel in the attack on Tuesday afternoon. Several hours later, another six mortars and five rockets were fired from the Strip. In all, 37 rockets were launched at southern Israel on Tuesday.

The IDF initially said four of the 22 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, and 16 landed in open areas. However, police said officers were dealing with five separate rocket impact sites in urban areas in southern Israel.

One of the rockets hit a construction site in the city of Sderot, seriously wounding a 25-year-old foreign national and lightly wounding two others, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

The three, suffering from shrapnel wounds, were taken to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. The hospital said in a later statement that the seriously wounded man’s condition had improved, and he was listed in moderate condition.

Footage circulating online showed another rocket impact site on a street in Sderot.

Shortly before the renewed rocket fire, the IDF instructed residents of towns close to the border with the Palestinian enclave, including the city of Sderot, to remain close to bomb shelters or safe areas until further notice. The restrictions were lifted about an hour later.

During the evening hours of Tuesday, six mortars and five rockets were launched from Gaza, the IDF said. Some of the mortars landed short in the Strip, while the rest landed in Israeli territory, close to the security barrier. One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome, and the other four landed in an open area near Sderot and Kissufim.

On Tuesday morning, four rockets were fired from Gaza as Israel readied for a potential escalation after Khader Adnan died in Israeli custody following an 86-day hunger strike.

The earlier rocket attacks caused no injuries or damage.

The site where a rocket fired from Gaza hit a construction site in the southern city of Sderot, May 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

The so-called “Joint Operations Room” of various Palestinian terror factions in the Gaza Strip took responsibility for the rocket fire.

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, the collective, which includes both the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups, said the attacks came as a response to the death of Adnan.

The Joint Operations Room added that the rocket barrage was just “an initial response to this heinous crime,” while calling the death of Adnan a “Zionist assassination.”

The IDF did not elaborate on the tank strikes in the Strip, but Palestinian media reports said an observation post belonging to Hamas near Gaza City was targeted.

Speaking at a cadet graduation ceremony in southern Israel, deputy IDF chief Maj. Gen. Amir Baram vowed the army would respond to the rocket attacks.

“Even at this very hour, we are busy with security challenges. Following the rocket fire that was just carried out toward Sderot and [towns] surrounding Gaza, I assure you that the IDF will respond and act in a determined and significant manner, in order to restore peace to Israeli residents,” Baram said.

Trails of smoke are seen as rockets are fired from Gaza towards Israel, in Gaza City on May 2, 2023. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)

Adnan was found unresponsive in his cell at Nitzan Prison in the central city of Ramle before dawn on Tuesday. He was brought to Shamir Medical Center outside Tel Aviv and underwent resuscitation efforts, but was declared dead at the hospital, the Israel Prisons Service said.

The defense establishment was preparing for a potential escalation in violence in the wake of Adnan’s death, including possible rioting in prisons.

Palestinian terror groups, including Islamic Jihad, warned of a response to Adnan’s death.

Meanwhile, in a press conference outside Adnan’s home, his wife, Randa Mousa, called for the Gaza-based terror groups not to respond.

“We don’t want those who respond to the sheikh’s death. We don’t want those who fire rockets and then for Gaza to be struck afterward… Those who could have acted to end the injustice the sheikh suffered from and didn’t — we don’t want to hear from them today,” she said.

The wife of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member who had been on hunger strike for nearly three months, gestures after his death was announced, on May 2, 2023, at her family home near Jenin in the West Bank. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Adnan’s latest detention was his 10th stint in the Israeli prison system. Israeli officials said he had been detained 13 times overall.

Adnan had long been accused of being a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad, and had been arrested several times in recent years and served several prison sentences in connection with his activities for the group.

After his arrest on February 5, Adnan was indicted on charges of activities for Islamic Jihad. As such, he was being held amid his trial. A hearing had been scheduled for May 10.

He had also previously gone on hunger strikes four times over his detentions, including over an arrest in 2018. In that case, he was convicted of having been an active member of the banned Iran-backed terror group after he pleaded guilty in a plea bargain.

In 2012 he went on hunger strike for 66 days in protest against a term of internment without trial, a controversial practice Israel calls “administrative detention.” In 2015 he went without food for over 50 days after another arrest. He was also arrested for suspected terrorist activity in 2019.

FILE – Khader Adnan, center, is greeted by Palestinians after his release from an Israeli prison in the West Bank village of Arrabeh near Jenin, July 12, 2015 (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir assumed control of Israel’s prisons when he came into office in December and has pushed for more strict handling of security prisoners. His ministry also oversees the police and Border Police.

In a statement, Ben Gvir said he held a special assessment with Israel Prison Service Chief Commissioner Katy Perry following Adnan’s death, and had decided to increase the level of security in the prisons.

The IPS was to close all cells “in order to prevent riots and disorder within the prisons,” Ben Gvir’s office said.

Additionally, Ben Gvir instructed the IPS to “inform the terrorists in the prisons that if terrorists go on hunger strike or riot, the amenities they currently receive will be revoked.” his office added.

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